Microwave
by KitKatt0430
Summary: Julian swears this is how it happened and Barry has to admit, the story at least makes them both sound equally petty, so its in character for them both. But... all that sniping and grumbling over each other and it a cup of microwaved tea?


Summary: Julian swears this is how it happened and Barry has to admit, the story at least makes them both sound equally petty, so its in character for them both. And it's not like Barry can remember how they actually came to dislike each other so much at first, so he can't exactly say for sure this isn't how it really happened, but...

All that sniping and grumbling over each other and it all comes down to a cup of microwaved tea?

Notes: Well made tea is serious business, because properly brewed really does taste better than microwaved. Which is why I'm the proud owner of an electric kettle and firmly ignore my parents teasing over it. They have a ridiculously expensive coffee maker for the horrible goop that makes me sick; I can have my reasonably priced water boiling device to make delicious tea that lifts my mood and soothes allergy headaches (or sore throats). (Coffee sensitivity sucks.)

_**Microwave**_

"Okay, so how did we wind up disliking each other so much when we have so much in common?" Barry asked, pausing Lego Dimensions right as Julian was about to fly the Wicked Witch into the portal to The Wizard of Oz world.

"Oh come on," Julian groaned, giving Barry a look. "Now? Really? When we're hunting for gold bricks?"

"Now, really," Barry confirmed. "It's been bugging me, okay? I mean, it was easy enough to dislike you for being a right git..."

Julian rolled his eyes.

"...when I came back from the whole time traveling thing and you were just here already. But that means I don't remember what actually started it. And you keep avoiding the question. I know you started working at the CCPD around the time the singularity wrecked the city and... I was doing an awful job dealing with survivor's guilt after Eddie and Ronnie died." He took a shaky breath because, wow, that still hurt. A lot. "Anyway, was I being an asshole to you then and now you're trying to spare my feelings or something?"

Setting aside his controller, Julian went quiet. "That probably contributed to things, in retrospect," Julian finally said. "But my sterling personality didn't help either. I was trying to push everyone away after the incident in India and you were trying too hard to be all smiles and everyone's friend so no one realized you were hurting and we just... grated on each others nerves as a result. Though it all really came to a head the day you stuck the tea in the microwave."

Barry opened his mouth. Then shut it sharply. Stared at Julian in bewilderment for a long moment. Then finally, "I'm sorry, what now?"

"You put your tea in the microwave. Deliberately. To screw with me. And that was just... the final straw really." Julian smirked and Barry found himself seriously regretting asking the question.

* * *

_They'd been arguing again about Allen's tardiness again. Which, Julian had to concede, Barry did at least usually make up the time later. At least, he'd concede it to himself in his private thoughts and not out loud because he didn't want to have to say anything nice about 'perfect Barry Allen'. If Julian had to listen to one more detective praise the other CSI for being so good at a job that Allen couldn't even be bother to be on time for..._

_"Look, I just thought if we got to know each other better, maybe my... our lab wouldn't feel quite so... hostile these days," Allen explained with a smile that didn't really reach his eyes._

_"We don't need to know each other better, Allen. We're not friends. We're colleagues. And you're barely qualified to even be that much." Which was unfair. Julian had actually been excited to meet Allen, based on some of the papers he'd published on new forensic techniques he'd developed to track teleporters like Shawna Baez._

_But with those strange blackouts... part of Julian feared he himself was somehow dangerous. Better to keep Allen at arms length. Even if he did have a nice smile and a common interest in Game of Thrones._

_Allen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clearly counting to ten (or backwards from ten or whatever he did to help himself calm down when annoyed), but it didn't seem to help. They were in the break room and Allen got up to toss out his empty paper cup, which had been previously full of coffee. And then he grabbed a new cup, within which he did not pour more coffee. No, Allen selected a tea bag and Julian winced when the tea bag not only went straight into the cup, but so did cold water from the tap._

_Cold brewed tea was a weird enough thing in the states, but what Allen did next was a travesty. Unforgivable._

_The cup went into the microwave for two minutes, while Allen turned and stared defiantly back at Julian for the entire damn time._

* * *

Barry sighed. "Okay, so I can totally imagine that happening. We're both petty enough that you'd definitely say shit you didn't mean to keep me at a distance and if I thought microwaving tea would piss you off, it'd be my go to passive aggressive power move. But. There is one thing that doesn't make sense."

"Oh, what's that?"

"A travesty you called it. Unforgivable. Yet last week I saw you microwave your own tea, Julian."

"I did not!" Julian crumpled when Barry raised his eyebrow. "Fine. I microwaved my tea. I've offended the tea gods and may never be forgiven for my sins. But also the hot water dispenser on the coffee machine was broken and I was desperate. We really need to get those things upgraded to Keuregs, or at least something more reliable and not potentially a decade old."

Barry just cackled with laughter and, finally, restarted the game.


End file.
